


Puppy Love

by YoMo715



Series: Remembered Anew (Breath of the Wild Ficlets) [8]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Cute things, F/M, Fluff, POV Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Who doesn't love puppies, link and zelda banter is THE BEST, puppies!, super fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 00:08:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12287085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoMo715/pseuds/YoMo715
Summary: PUPPIES! Ridiculously fluffy.Response to an ask on Tumblr.





	Puppy Love

It was raining cats and dogs outside. 

Not literally,  _ of course _ , but with how loud the pounding on the roof of Link’s Hateno home was, it may as well have been. The loud crash of thunder completed the effect of a midsummer rainstorm. 

Zelda paced the first floor in an anxious figure eight pattern.  _ Step step step, pivot, step step step, pivot _ ...so on and so forth. 

“Where is he?” She muttered. It always felt much better to speak her feelings aloud. 

Link had been gone for hours. “Going to catch dinner,” was his only clue to his whereabouts. He should be back by now, but he wasn’t, and the storm was continuing to worsen. 

_ Crack! _ A thunderclap rattled the house, lightning so close it shook the frame and wobbled the cutlery in the cabinets. Zelda winced. In three bounds she was at the entrance, her heart pounding in her chest as she unlocked the clasp. She didn’t need to open the door _ — _ it nearly flung open from the force of the wind alone, and rain pelted her face and clothes like cold needles. 

“Link!” She cried into the night, one foot out of the doorway. Wind buffeted her dress, already sodden, and the heavy rain made it difficult to see. She called his name again, still with no response. 

Another flash of lightning, almost blindingly bright, forced her to retreat back to the house. But it was then that she finally made out a silhouette running across the bridge.

“Zelda!” Just the sound of Link’s voice filled her with relief. He ran to her, bow strapped to his back, cradling a bundle wrapped in his hood cape close to his chest. “What are you doing? It’s dangerous out here!” He pulled her into the house, closing and latching the door (with some effort). 

“ _ What am I doing?”  _ Zelda furrowed her brow. “Where have you been? It’s been hours since you left, and this storm is awful.” 

Rather than anger, Link responded with a small smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. Besides, you know it would take more than a little storm to bring me down.” His smile spread into a grin. 

Zelda rolled her eyes and laughed, pulling him into a hug. “I can’t argue with that logic,” she whispered. It felt like a huge weight had lifted from her chest, wriggling and breaking free from her hold _ — _ _ wait, what is that? _ Her eyes widened. It wasn’t just an emotion, something was literally  _ moving _ between them. She pulled apart from Link’s hold a little, horrified to find the bundle he was holding _ was wiggling _ . Despite her confusion, Link just laughed, pulling the hood apart to reveal…

“A dog?” 

Zelda was dumbfounded. 

Link laughed harder. 

It was a Hebran Husky, snuggled in the blankets. Its fur was an odd, fiery shade of red, with a white face and underbelly. By the size of its paws _ — _ too massive for its tiny body _ — _ i t couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old, just weaned from its mother. Zelda’s stare softened. It shivered feverously, fur soaked through with cold rainwater, clinging to Link like he was the last warmth it would ever feel.

“This is why I was so late.” Link’s voice was soft and quiet, treating the pup as though it were an infant. Something about that made Zelda smile. 

She watched as Link discarded the cloak, letting it fall to the floor with a wet thud. He unstrapped his bow with one hand, placed it on the wall, and crossed the room to the small fireplace he had Bolson install a few months earlier. “I found him at the edge of the road, by the forest just outside the village,” he explained, sitting close to the fire to warm the pup. “I couldn’t just leave him there.”

As if on cue, another bolt of lightning struck nearby, shaking the house. The puppy squirmed at the sound, his tiny voice yelping a weak bark. Zelda’s heart melted. It was such a pathetic noise, primal fear and anxiety, pure and raw emotion. 

“I’m sure we can care for the dog,” She answered, voice as quiet as Link’s. She took a place beside him at the fire. “Let me take him,” she offered, arms outstretched. “You need to change out of those wet clothes before you catch cold.” 

Link nodded. He lifted the pup out of his lap with great care, turning to hand him to Zelda. The puppy barked at first, squirming in fear, but as he settled into Zelda’s arms he calmed again. She smiled at him, running her fingers through his short, damp fur. In response, the pup relaxed. His shivers subsided as his fur dried, becoming softer to the touch. He fit well into Zelda’s lap: snout nuzzled under her neck, bum tucked between her legs, body snug in the crook of her arm. His eyes were closed in sleep, paws twitching with dreams. 

After just ten minutes, Zelda was in love. 

“We’re keeping him,” she whispered to Link as he returned in a fresh set of clothes.

He smiled, sitting beside her to pet the pup. “Good. Guess I rehearsed a speech for nothing.” 

Zelda chuckled. “What should we call him?” She asked, seeing the pup wag his tail in his sleep. 

“I’ve been calling him Sidon,” Link answered first. 

Zelda furrowed her brow. “You  _ never  _ name something after someone that’s still alive!” She scolded.

“Of course not!” Link pouted. “It’s just because his fur colors remind me of him. I didn’t want to actually call him that.”

“Still, highly inappropriate,” Zelda wagged a finger at Link, but smiled. “What do you want to call him, then?” 

“I don’t know. Cinnamon?” He answered with a flat tone. 

“That sounds a bit girly. How about,” she hummed in thought, looking down to the pup and playing with its paws. “Guardian?”

Link gave her a look. “That’s not a name.” 

“They say dogs are like guardians to humans,” Zelda shrugged. “Scout?” 

“Still not a name.” 

“It’s a perfectly acceptable dog’s name!” 

“Only if you want it to be a military dog. How about Curry?”

“That’s a food!”

“Chestnut?”

“Link!” 

“Truffle?”

“You’re just hungry, aren’t you?” Zelda gave Link a dull look, ignoring the fact that they’d been leaning closer together the more they fought. 

“Starved,” Link grinned. In a single, smooth motion, he grasped her face, stole a quick kiss, stood, and walked off. “I’m making meat skewers tonight!” He called to a flummoxed Zelda. 

In the end, they never decided on a proper name for the dog, so they just called him Sid. He carried the name well. Sid was prideful, energetic, and just as friendly as his Zoran counterpart. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feedback is always appreciated!


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